Which of the following characteristics of the Ottoman Empire best explains why Sinan was determined to match the dimensions of the Hagia Sophia church, as discussed in the third paragraph? (A) The Ottoman dynasty was descended from Turkic pastoralist nomads who did not have their own tradition of monumental architecture.
(B) Ottoman art often illustrated the historical and spiritual connections
between Islam and other monotheistic religions, such as Christianity
and Judaism.
(C) By the time the Ottoman Empire began to expand, the Byzantine Empire had already been dramatically reduced in size and geopolitical importance.
(D) Bringing Constantinople, with its imperial traditions, under Islamic rule was one of the central pillars of Ottoman rulers' claims to political legitimacy.